New Perspective

"Time. Stop.  So we do

not wrinkle, age." "Dear, you are

growing not aging."

Mirror, mirror on the wall

My friend Margaret Soboslay's painting.

Look and say like the
tree I am beautiful. And
So you will become.


Note:

This is a poetic take on one of the tips on aging gracefully given by Christiane Northrup, MD, the author of the book, Goddesses Never Age: The Secret Prescription for Radiance, Vitality, and Well-Being (click on the image below for information on how to obtain the book). She was a recent guest on Oprah Winfrey's TV program Super Soul Sunday wherein she discussed some of the ideas in her book on not aging as one inevitably grows old.

She suggests as a daily ritual to look at the mirror and say to yourself "I love you" repeatedly for twenty minutes. If one does this self affirmation which comes from within and not from an egoistic self one would see the lines disappear.

Grandma's Lament Erased

He burps, pukes and poops
Endless diapers, bottles
But coos, smiles. Hooked.

A Visit to a Friend

Gift of goodies yum.
Talk, any, everything.
Warm food for the souls.

When I Can No Longer Do

When I can no longer do
What I was able to
Do I sit and fret
Or just accept
Life does have limits
But wait do not have a fit
All is well still
If you know how to fill
Your time with what you are able
And what you can't, just leave on the table
Who cares if you keep on forgetting
What you need to get in that room you just were in
Why your energy is zapped
When everyone else is not even ready for their nap
There is a time and place
For everything there is space
Find what is for now
And to the past just take a bow.

High School Reunions

Preparing for high school reunions
To some is painful like feet bunions
Some are afraid how much they have changed
Dieting to death to lose the pounds they have gained
They wish all those wrinkles and lines could be erased
And those bulging bellies and balding spots replaced
Alas the time to meet old classmates is closer than ever
And panic takes over
Then reality sets in
What in the world am I doing
This is not what reunions are for
You should enter the reunion venue door
With pride and not anxiety
You are seeing, being and rejoicing with everybody
However you are now with them you should celebrate
You earned those wrinkles and weight
You lived life your way
And so did they
Just reminisce of days long ago
When you were young and much in life did not know
The moments are precious and life is short
Find strength in the camaraderie and support
It is worth celebrating with old classmates
What was tendered to each of you by fate
You all survived living all these years
And to that one grateful Cheers!

Welcome A New Day

Welcome A New Day

A new day what do you have in store for me

I wonder what they will be

Along the way I know there will be surprises 

I just hope some will be nice

If some are not

And even if they are a lot

That is OK

What can I say

I got a gift of another day.

Taking a Different Worldview

I wrote a poem illustrating the difference between being and having and doing.  I am hoping this perspective of emphasizing being will help the unrest and greed that permeates society today and also within ourself. Here is the poem.

The Importance of Being

When my life goes off tracked

And I am out of whack

There is something I am forgetting

That in life what matters most is being

Not having

Not even doing.

Having and doing leave one never satisfied

You want more and more till you're tired
Burned out and totally fried.

Being is pacifying

Satisfying

Gratifying
Strengthening

Joy giving.

I have to remind myself when the rat race
Is too fast paced
To slow down and even stop
To breathe and reflect
We are not just mere objects.

Awareness of the spirit within

Is life giving

Not the things 

Or what success brings.

The Importance of Being

The Importance of Being

When my life goes off tracked

And I am out of whack

There is something I am forgetting

That in life what matters most is being

Not having

Not even doing.

Having and doing leave one never satisfied

You want more and more till you're tired
Burned out and totally fried.

Being is pacifying

Satisfying

Gratifying
Strengthening

Joy giving.

I have to remind myself when the rat race
Is too fast paced
To slow down and even stop
To breathe and reflect
We are not just mere objects.

Awareness of the spirit within

Is life giving

Not the things 

Or what success brings.

What If I Get To Be 70, 80 or Even 90

What If I Get To Be 70, 80 Or 90

I am in my sixties
And I do wonder what it will be
When I am in my seventies, eighties or nineties
Will I be like seventy-ish Kay
Who averages 14000 steps a day
Or will I be at home to stay
Or be out to the gym like Kay to play.
When I am in my eighties
Will I learn new crafts like Dorothy
Making pop up cards and folded cut out trees
Will I be like Win painting travel memories
Or be like Rose who with her computer skills
Do facebook, skype and send out emails
Will I still be doing Zumba steps with pizzass
Like Helen in my class
Or will I be home like I inhaled ether and just be still
Complaining that life has no more thrills.
Will I be like the late dear Elma in her nineties
Doing the exercise circuit at Curves while telling us stories
Or will I just sit on my behind
Bored out of my mind
And what if I reach the hundreds
Will I be like Val busy with the Garden Club she heads
Who chooses at 101 "to live while she is alive
And die only when she is dead"
Or will I just dread
My obituary that will be read.
Whatever life brings at any age
As I speak like Patricia the ageless sage
It will be good and even better somehow
If I emulate the attitude of these inspiring ladies to whom I bow.

Like a Long Lost Sock

Like a Long Lost Sock

What you value
May one day lose its hue
No more luster
Like peeling wall plaster.
You go panic
It makes you sick
No longer are you thrilled
By something for which with glee you squealed
Then one day like a lost sock
You find it back
In unexpected places and cranny
At surprising times that are uncanny.
Not to worry when something you lose
Leaves you sad and confused
In time it will be back
Like a long lost sock.

Happiness Along the Way

Happiness Along the Way

Nowadays I easily find happiness along the way

Not in Carribean beaches nor exotic bays

For me an unclogged bathroom drain

Though not fancy and not a desire so vain

One day gave me so much joy

Like a child receiving a new toy.

Is retirement making me easier to please

And less jaded and at ease

To see jewels in little pebbles and stones

And discover experiences taking deeper tones.